At the conclusion of this second Extraordinary Synod we must first of all
give great thanks to the benevolence of God, who deigned to lead the Sovereign
Pontiff to convoke this Synod. We are also grateful to the Holy Father John Paul
II, who called us to this twentieth anniversary celebration of the conclusion of
the Second Vatican Council. The Synod has been for us an occasion which has
allowed us once again to experience communion in the one Spirit, in the one
faith and hope, and in the one Catholic Church, as well as in the unanimous will
to translate the Council into the practice and life of the Church. We likewise
have participated in one another's joys and hopes, as well as in the sufferings
and anguish too often undergone by the Church throughout the world.

2. Attainment of the Synod's aim

The end for which this Synod was convoked was the celebration, verification
and promotion of Vatican Council II. With grateful hearts, we feel that we have
truly obtained this fruit, with God's assistance. Unanimously we have celebrated
the Second Vatican Council as a grace of God and a gift of the Holy Spirit, from
which have come forth many spiritual fruits for the universal Church and the
particular Churches, as well as for the men of our time. Unanimously and
joyfully we also verify that the Council is a legitimate and valid expression
and interpretation of the deposit of faith as it is found in Sacred Scripture
and in the living tradition of the Church. Therefore we are determined to
progress further along the path indicated to us by the Council. There has been
full consensus among us regarding the need to further promote the knowledge and
application of the Council, both in its letter and in its spirit. In this way
new progress will be achieved in the reception of the Council, that is, in its
spiritual interiorization and practical application.

3. Lights and shadows in the reception of the Council

The large majority of the faithful received the Second Vatican Council with
zeal; a few, here and there, showed resistance to it. There is no doubt,
therefore, that the Council was embraced with heartfelt adherence, because the
Holy Spirit was prompting his Church to do so. Moreover, even outside the
Catholic Church many people paid careful attention to the Second Vatican
Council.

Nonetheless, although great fruits have been obtained from the council, we
have at the same time recognized, with great sincerity, deficiencies and
difficulties in the acceptance of the Council. In truth, there certainly have
also been shadows in the post-council period, in part due to an incomplete
understanding and application of the Council, in Part to other causes. However,
in no way can it be affirmed that everything which took place after the Council
was caused by the Council.

In a particular way, the question must be posed as to why, in the so-called
"First World", following a doctrine of the Church which has been so
extensively and profoundly explained, quite often a certain estrangement is
manifested towards the Church, even though in this area of the world the fruits
of the Council abound Instead, where the Church is oppressed by totalitarian
ideologies or where the Church raises her voice against social injustices, she
seems to be accepted in a more positive way.

Yet it cannot be denied that even in such places not all the faithful full;;
and totally identify with the Church and her primary mission.

4. External and internal causes of the difficulties

In many areas of the world the Church lacks the material means and the
personnel for carrying out her mission. To this must be added the fact that not
infrequently the Church is forcibly impeded from exercising her mission. In the
wealthy nations we see the constant growth of an ideology characterized by pride
in technical advances and a certain immanentism that leads to the idolatry of
material goods (so-called consumerism") From this can follow a certain
blindness to spiritual realities and values. In addition, we cannot deny the
existence in society of forces capable of great influence which act with a
certain hostile spirit towards the Church. All of these things manifest the work
of the "prince of this world" and of the "mystery of
iniquity" even in our day.

Among the internal causes, there must be noted a partial and selective
reading of the Council, as well as a superficial interpretation of its doctrine
in one sense or another. On the one hand, there have been disappointments
because we have been too hesitant in the application of the true doctrine of the
Council. On the other hand, because of a partial reading of the Council, a
unilateral presentation of the Church as a purely institutional structure devoid
of her Mystery has been made. We are probably not immune from all responsibility
for the fact that especially the young critically consider the Church a pure
institution. Have we not perhaps favored this opinion in them by speaking too
much of the renewal of the Church's external structures and too little of God
and of Christ? From time to time there has also been a lack of the discernment
of spirits, with the failure to correctly distinguish between a legitimate
openness of the Council to the world and the acceptance of a secularize world's
mentality and order of values.

5. A deeper reception of the Council

These and other deficiencies show the need for a deeper reception of the
Council. And this requires four successive phases: a deeper and more extensive
knowledge of the Council, its interior assimilation, its loving reaffirmation
and its implementation. Only interior assimilation and practical implementation
can make the conciliar documents alive and life-giving.

The theological interpretation of the conciliar doctrine must show attention
to all the documents, in themselves and in their close inter-relationship, in
such a way that the integral meaning of the Council's affirmations—often very
complex—might be understood and expressed. Special attention must be paid to
the four major Constitutions of the Council, which contain the interpretative
key for the other Decrees and Declarations. It is not licit to separate the
pastoral character from the doctrinal vigor of the documents. In the same way,
it is not legitimate to separate the spirit and the letter of the Council.
Moreover, the Council must be understood in continuity with the great tradition
of the Church, and at the same time we must receive light from the Council's own
doctrine for today's Church and the men of our time. The Church is one and the
same throughout all the councils.

6. Suggestions

It is suggested that a pastoral program be implemented in the particular
Churches for the years to come, having as its objectives a new, more extensive
and deeper knowledge and reception of the Council. This can be attained above
all through a new diffusion of the documents themselves, through the publication
of studies that explain the documents and bring them closer to the understanding
of the faithful. The conciliar doctrine must be proposed in a suitable and
continued way by means of conferences and courses in the permanent formation of
priests and seminarians, in the formation of men and women religious, and also
in the catechesis of adults. Diocesan Synods and other ecclesial conferences can
be very useful for the application of the Council. The opportune use of the
means of social communication (mass media) is recommended. For a correct
understanding and implementation of the Council's doctrine, great help will be
had from the reading and the practical implementation of what is found in the
various Apostolic Exhortations, which are, as it were, the fruit of the Ordinary
Synods held in the beginning of 1969.

II Particular Themes of the Synod

A. The Mystery of the Church

1. Secularism and Signs of Return to the Sacred

The brief twenty-year period that separates us from the conclusion of the
Council has brought with it accelerated changes in history. In this sense, the
signs of our times do not exactly coincide, in some points, with those of the
time of the Council. From among these, special attention must be paid to the
Phenomenon of secularism. Without any doubt the Council has affirmed the
legitimate autonomy of temporal realities (cf. GS 36 and elsewhere). In this
sense, a correctly understood secularization must be admitted. But we are
speaking of something totally different from the secularism that consists of an
autonomist vision of man and the world, one which leaves aside the dimension of
mystery, indeed neglects and denies it. This immanentism is a reduction of the
integral Vision of man, a reduction which leads not to his true liberation but
to a new idolatry, to the slavery of ideologies, to life in reductive and often
oppressive structures of this world.

Despite secularism, signs of a return to the sacred also exist. Today in
fact, there are signs of a new hunger and thirst for the transcendent and
divine. In order to favor this return to the sacred and to overcome secularism
we must open the way to the dimension of the "divine" or of mystery
and offer the preambles of faith to mankind today. Because, as the Council
affirms, man is a question to himself and only God can give him the full and
ultimate answer (cf. GS 21) Does not the spread of sects perhaps lead us to ask
whether we have sometimes failed to sufficiently manifest the sense of the
sacred?

2. The Mystery of God through Jesus in the Holy Spirit

The primary mission of the Church, under the impulse of the Holy Spirit, is
to preach and to witness to the good and joyful news of the election, the mercy
and charity of God which manifest themselves in salvation history, which through
Jesus Christ reach their culmination in the fullness of time and which
communicate and offer salvation to man by virtue of the Holy Spirit. Christ is
the light of humanity! The Church proclaiming the Gospel, must see to it that
this light clearly shines out from her countenance (cf. LG) The Church makes
herself more credible if she speaks less of herself and ever more preaches
Christ Crucified (cf. 1 Cor 22) and witnesses with her own life. In this way the
Church is sacrament, that is, sign and instrument of communion with God and also
of communion and reconciliation of men with one another. The message of the
Church, as described in the Second Vatican Council, is Trinitarian and
Christocentric.

Because Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the new Adam he at once manifests
the mystery of God and the mystery of man and his exalted vocation (cf. G5 22).
The Son of God became man in order to make men children of God. Through this
familiarity with God, man is raised to a most high dignity. Therefore, when the
Church preaches Christ she announces salvation to mankind.

3. The Mystery of the Church

The whole importance of the Church derives from her connection with Christ.
The Council has described the Church in diverse ways: as the people of God, the
body of Christ, the bride of Christ, the temple of the Holy Spirit, the family
of God. These descriptions of the Church complete one another and must be
understood in the light of the Mystery of Christ or of the Church in Christ. We
cannot replace a false unilateral vision of the Church as purely hierarchical
with a new sociological conception which is also unilateral. Jesus Christ is
ever present in his Church and lives in her as risen. From the Church's
connection with Christ we clearly understand the eschatological character of the
Church herself (cf. LG 7) In this way the pilgrim Church on earth is the
messianic people (cf. LG 9) that already anticipates in itself its future
reality as a new creation. Yet she remains a holy Church that has sinners in her
midst, that must ever be purified, and that moves amidst the persecutions of
this world and the consolations of God, towards the future kingdom (cf. LG 8) In
this sense there are always present within the Church the mystery of the Cross
and the mystery of the resurrection.

4. The universal vocation to holiness

Because the Church in Christ is mystery, she must be considered a sign and
instrument of holiness. For this reason the Council proclaimed the vocation of
all the faithful to holiness (cf. LG 5). The call to holiness is an invitation
to an intimate conversion of heart and to participate in the life of God, One
and Triune, and this signifies and surpasses the realization of man's every
desire. In our day above all, when so many people feel an interior void and
spiritual crisis, the Church must preserve and energetically promote the sense
of penance, prayer, adoration, sacrifice, self-giving, charity and justice.

Men and women saints have always been founts and origins of renewal in the
most difficult circumstances throughout the Church's history. Today we have
tremendous need of saints, for whom we must assiduously Implore God. The
Institutes of consecrated life through the profession of the evangelical
counsels must be conscious of their special mission in today's Church, and we
must encourage them in that mission. The apostolic movements and the new
movements of spirituality are the bearers of great hope, if they properly remain
in ecclesial communion. All the laity must perform their role in the Church in
their daily occupations such as the family, the workplace, secular activities
and leisure time so as to permeate and transform the world with the light and
life of Christ. Popular devotion, rightly understood and practiced, is very
useful in nourishing the holiness of the people. It therefore merits greater
attention on the part of pastors.

The Blessed Virgin Mary, who is our mother in the order of grace (cf. LG 61),
is an example for all Christians of holiness and of total response to God's call
(LG chaps. 8).

5. Suggestions

Today it is extremely necessary that the Pastors of the Church excel in the
witness of holiness. It is necessary already in seminaries and religious houses
to give a formation that educates the candidates not only intellectually but
also spiritually; they must be seriously introduced to a daily spiritual life
(prayer, meditation, the reading of the Bible, the sacraments of Penance and the
Eucharist) According to what is expressed by the Decree "Presbyterorum
Ordinis", they should be prepared for the priestly ministry in such a way
that they find nourishment for their spiritual life in pastoral activity itself
(cf. PO 16) Thus, in the exercise of the ministry they will also be capable of
offering the faithful the correct counsel for their spiritual lives. The true
renewal of the Institutes of consecrated life must be favoured in every way. But
the spirituality of the laity, founded on baptism, must also be promoted. In the
first place, it is necessary to promote conjugal spirituality, which is based on
the sacrament of marriage and is of great importance for the transmission of the
faith to future generations.

B. Sources of the life for the Church

a) The Word of God

1. Scripture, tradition, magisterium

Hearing the word of God with reverence, the Church has the mission of
proclaiming it with faith (cf. DV 1) Consequently, the preaching of the Gospel
is among the principal duties of the Church, and especially of the bishops, and
today it takes on the greatest importance (cf. LG 25) In this context is seen
the importance of the Dogmatic Constitution "Dei Verbum", which has
been too neglected, but which Paul VI nonetheless reproposed in a more profound
and timely way in the Apostolic Exhortation "Evangelii Nuntiandi".

For this Constitution, too, it is necessary to avoid a partial reading. In
particular, the exegesis of the original meaning of Sacred Scripture most highly
recommended by the Council, (cf. DV 12) cannot be separated from the living
tradition of the Church (cf. DV 10).

The false opposition between doctrinal and pastoral responsibilities must be
avoided and overcome. In fact, the true intent of pastoral work consists in
actualizing and making concrete the truth of salvation, which is in itself valid
for all times. As true pastors, the bishops must point out the right way to the
flock, strengthen the faith of the flock, keep dangers away from it.

2 Evangelization

The mystery of divine life that the Church brings to all peoples to
participate in must be proclaimed. The Church is missionary by her very nature
(cf. AG 2) Thus the bishops are not only teachers of the faithful but heralds of
the faith which leads new disciples to Christ (cf. LG 25) Evangelization is the
first duty not only of the bishops but also of priests and deacons, indeed, of
all Christians. Everywhere on earth today the transmission to the young of the
faith and the moral values deriving from the Gospel is in danger. Often,
knowledge of the faith and the acceptance of the moral order are reduced to the
minimum. Therefore, a new effort in evangelization and in integral and
systematic catechesis is required.

Evangelization does not regard only the missions in the common sense of the
word, that is, "ad Gentes". The evangelization of non-believers in
fact presupposes the self-evangelization of the baptized and also in a certain
sense, of deacons, priests and bishops. Evangelization takes place through
witnesses. The witness gives his testimony not only with words, but also with
his life. We must not forget that in Greek the word for testimony is
"martyrium". In this respect, the more ancient Churches can learn much
from the new Churches, from their dynamism, from their life and testimony even
unto the shedding of their blood for the faith.

3. The relationship between the magisterium of the Bishops and theologians

Theology, according to the well-known description of St. Anselm, is
"faith seeking understanding". Since all Christians must account for
the hope that is in them (cf. 1 Pt 3:15), theology is specifically necessary to
the life of the Church today. With joy we recognize what has been done by
theologians to elaborate the documents of Vatican Council II and to help towards
their faithful interpretation and fruitful application in the post-conciliar
period. But on the other hand, we regret that the theological discussions of our
day have sometimes occasioned confusion among the faithful. Thus, communication
and a reciprocal dialogue between the bishops and theologians are necessary for
the building up of the faith and its deeper comprehension.

4. Suggestions

Very many have expressed the desire that a catechism or compendium of all
Catholic doctrine regarding both faith and morals be composed, that it might be,
as it were, a point of reference for the catechisms or compendiums that are
prepared in the various regions. The presentation of doctrine must be biblical
and liturgical. It must be sound doctrine suited to the present life of
Christians. The formation of candidates to the priesthood must be looked after
in a particular way. In it, the philosophical formation and the manner of
teaching theology proposed by the Decree "Optatam Totius" n.16 merit
attention. It is recommended that the manuals, besides offering an exposition of
sound theology in a scientific and pedagogical manner, be permeated by a true
sense of the Church.

b. The sacred liturgy

1. Internal renewal of the liturgy

The liturgical renewal is the most visible fruit of the whole conciliar
effort. Even if there have been some difficulties, it has generally been
received joyfully and fruitfully by the faithful. The liturgical renewal cannot
be limited to ceremonies, rites, texts, etc. The active participation so happily
increased after the Council does not consist only in external activity, but
above all in interior and spiritual participation, in living and fruitful
participation in the paschal mystery of Jesus Christ (cf. SC 11). It is evident
that the liturgy must favour the sense of the sacred and make it shine forth. It
must be permeated by the spirit of reverence, adoration and glory of God.

2. Suggestions

The Bishops should not merely correct abuses but should also clearly explain
to everyone the theological foundation of the sacramental discipline and of the
liturgy.

Catecheses must once again become paths leading into liturgical life
(mystagogical catecheses), as was the case in the Church's beginnings.

Future priests should learn liturgical life in a practical way and know
liturgical theology as well

C. The Church as communion

I. The meaning of communion

The ecclesiology of communion is the central and fundamental idea of the
Council's documents. Koinonia/communion, founded on the Sacred Scripture, have
been held in great honor in the early Church and in the Oriental Churches to
this day. Thus, much was done by the Second Vatican Council so that the Church
as communion might be more clearly understood and concretely incorporated into
life. What does the complex word "communion" mean? Fundamentally it is
a matter of communion with God through Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit. This
communion is had in the Word of God and in the sacraments. Baptism is the door
and the foundation of communion in the Church. The Eucharist is the source and
the culmination of the whole Christian life (cf. LG 11) The communion of the
eucharistic Body of Christ signifies and produces, that is, builds up, the
intimate communion of all the faithful in the Body of Christ which is the Church
(1 Cor. 10:16).

For this reason, the ecclesiology of communion cannot be reduced to purely
organizational questions or to problems which simply relate to powers. Still,
the ecclesiology of communion is also the foundation for order in the Church,
and especially for a correct relationship between unity and pluriformity in the
Church.

2. Unity and pluriformity in the Church

Just as we believe in one God alone and one mediator, Jesus Christ, in one
Spirit, so we have but one baptism and one Eucharist with which the unity and
the uniqueness of the Church are signified and built up This is of great
importance especially today, because the Church, in as much as she is one and
unique, is as a sacrament a sign and instrument of unity and of reconciliation,
of peace among men, nations, classes and peoples. In the unity of the faith and
the sacraments and in the hierarchical unity, especially with the centre of
unity given to us by Christ in the service of refer, the Church is that
messianic people of which the Constitution "Lumen Gentium" speaks (n.
9) In this way, ecclesial communion with Peter and his successors IS not an
obstacle but the anticipation and prophetic sign of a fuller unity. On the other
hand, the one and unique spirit works with many and varied spiritual gifts and
charisma (1 Cor. 12:4ff), the one Eucharist is celebrated in various places For
this reason, the unique and universal Church is truly present in all the
particular Churches (CD 11), and these are formed in the image of the universal
Church in such a way that the one and unique Catholic Church exists in and
through the particular Churches (LG 23). Here we have the true theological
principal of variety and pluriformity in unity but it is necessary to
distinguish pluriformity from pure pluralism. When pluriformity is true richness
and carries with it fullness, this is true catholicity. The pluralism of
fundamentally opposed positions instead leads to dissolution, destruction and
the loss of identity.

3. The Oriental Churches

In terms of this aspect of communion, the Catholic Church today holds in
great esteem the institutions, liturgical rites, ecclesiastical traditions and
discipline of Christian life of the Oriental Churches, because they are
resplendent in their venerable antiquity and because in them is present the
tradition of the Apostles through the Fathers (OE 1). In them, dating back to
ancient times, the patriarchal institution is in effect, an institution which
was recognized by the first ecumenical councils (OE 7). It should also be added
that the Oriental Churches have given testimony with the death and the blood of
their martyrs for Christ and his Church

4. Collegiality

The ecclesiology of communion provides the sacramental foundation of
collegiality. Therefore the theology of collegiality is much more extensive than
its mere juridical aspect. The collegial spirit is broader than effective
collegiality understood in an exclusively juridical way. The collegial spirit is
the soul of the collaboration between the bishops on the regional, national and
international levels. Collegial action in the strict sense implies the activity
of the whole college, together with its head, over the entire Church Its maximum
expression is found in an ecumenical council. In the whole theological question
regarding the relationship between primacy and the college of bishops a
distinction cannot be made between the Roman Pontiff and the bishops considered
collectively, but between the Roman Pontiff alone and the Roman Pontiff together
with the bishops (LG expl. note 3), because the college exists with its
"head" and never without him, the subject of supreme and full power in
the whole Church (LG 22)

From this first collegiality understood in the strict sense one must
distinguish the diverse partial realizations, which are authentically sign and
instrument of the collegial spirit: the Synod of Bishops, the Episcopal
Conferences, the Roman Curia, the "ad limina visits etc. All of these
actualizations cannot be directly deduced from the theological principle of
collegiality; but they are regulated by ecclesial law. Nonetheless, all of these
other forms, like the pastoral journeys of the Supreme Pontiff, are a service of
great importance for the whole college of bishops together with the Pope, and
also for the individual bishops whom the Holy Spirit has made guardians in the
Church of God (Acts 20:28).

5. The episcopal conferences

The collegial spirit has a concrete application in the episcopal conferences
(LG 23). No one can doubt their pastoral utility, indeed their necessity in the
present situation. In the episcopal conferences the bishops of a nation or a
territory jointly exercise their pastoral service (CD 38; CIC can. 447).

In their manner of proceeding, episcopal conferences must keep in mind the
good of the Church, that is, the service of unity and the inalienable
responsibility of each bishop in relation to the universal Church and the
particular Church.

6. Participation and co-responsibility in the Church

Because the Church is communion there must be participation and
co-responsibility at all of her levels. This general principle must be
understood in diverse ways in diverse areas.

Between a bishop and his presbyterate there exists a relationship founded on
the sacrament of Orders. Thus priests in a certain way make the bishop present
in the individual local assemblies of the faithful, and assume and exercise in
part in their daily work his tasks and his solicitude (LG 28) Consequently,
friendly relations and full trust must exist between bishops and their priests.

Bishops feel themselves linked in gratitude to their priests, who in the
post-conciliar period have played a great part in implementing the Council (OT
1) and they wish to be close with all their strength to their priests and to
give them help and support in their often difficult work, especially in
parishes.

Finally, the spirit of collaboration with deacons and between the bishop and
the religious who are active in his particular Church must be favoured. In
addition, from Vatican II has positively come a new style of collaboration
between the laity and clerics. The spirit of willingness with which many lay
persons put themselves at the service of the Church is to be numbered among the
best fruits of the Council. In this is experienced the fact that we are all the
Church.

In recent years there has often been discussion regarding the vocation and
the mission of women. May the Church do its utmost so that they might be able to
express, in the service of the Church, their own gifts, and to play a greater
part in the various fields of the Church's apostolate (cf. AA 9) May pastors
gratefully accept and promote the collaboration of women in ecclesial activity.
The Council calls the young the hope of the Church (GE 2). This extraordinary
Synod addressed young people with special love and great confidence and expects
great things from their generous dedication. It exhorts them that they might
embrace and dynamically continue the heritage of the Council, assuming their
role in the mission of the Church. Because the Church is communion, the new
"basic communities", if they truly live in unity with the Church, are
a true expression of communion and a means for the construction of a more
profound communion. They are thus cause for great hope for the life of the
Church (EN 58).

7. Ecumenical Communion

Basing itself on the ecclesiology of communion, the Catholic Church at the
time of the Second Vatican Council fully assumed her ecumenical responsibility.
After these twenty years we can affirm that ecumenism has inscribed itself
deeply and indelibly in the consciousness of the Church. We bishops ardently
desire that the incomplete communion already existing with the non-Catholic
Churches and communities might, with the grace of God, come to the point of full
communion.

Ecumenical dialogue must be carried out in diverse ways at the diverse levels
of the Church, whether by the universal Church, the particular Churches or
concrete local organizations. The dialogue must be spiritual and theological.
The ecumenical movement is particularly favoured by mutual prayer. Dialogue is
authentic and fruitful if it presents the truth with love and fidelity towards
the Church In this way ecumenical dialogue causes the Church to be seen more
clearly as a sacrament of unity. The communion between Catholics and other
Christians, although incomplete, summons everyone to collaborate in the numerous
fields and thus makes possible a certain common witness to the salvific love of
God for the world, so in need of salvation.

8. Suggestions

a) Because the new Code of Canon Law, happily promulgated, is of great help
to the Latin Church in the application of the Council, the desire is expressed
that the Oriental codification be completed as quickly as possible. b) Since the
episcopal conferences are so useful, indeed necessary, in the present-day
pastoral work of the Church, it is hoped that the study of their theological
"status" and above all the problem of their doctrinal authority might
be made explicit in a deeper and more extensive way, keeping in mind what is
written in the Conciliar Decree "Christus Dominus" n. 38 and in the
Code of Canon Law can. 447 and 753.

c) It is recommended that a study be made to examine whether the principle of
subsidiarily in use in human society can be applied to the Church, and to what
degree and in what sense such an application can and should be made (cf. Pius
XII, AAS 38, 1946, p. 144).

D. The mission of the Church in the world

1. Importance of the Constitution "Gaudium et Spes"

The Church as communion is a sacrament for the salvation of the world.
Therefore the authorities in the Church have been placed there by Christ for the
salvation of the world In this context we affirm the great importance and
timeliness of the Pastoral Constitution "Gaudium et Spes". At the same
time, however, we perceive that the signs of our time are in part different from
the time of the Council, with greater problems and anguish. Today, in fact,
everywhere in the world we witness an increase in hunger, oppression, injustice
and war, sufferings, terrorism and other forms of violence of every sort. This
requires a new and more profound theological reflection in order to interpret
these signs in the light of the Gospel.

2. Theology of the Cross

It seems to us that in the present-day difficulties God wishes to teach us
more deeply the value, the importance and the centrality of the cross of Jesus
Christ. Therefore the relationship between human history and salvation is to be
explained in the light of the paschal mystery. Certainly the theology of the
cross does not at all exclude the theology of the creation and incarnation, but,
as is clear, it presupposes it. When we Christians

speak of the cross, we do not deserve to be labeled pessimists, but rather
found ourselves upon the realism of Christian hope.

3. "Aggiornamento"

From this paschal perspective, which affirms the unity of the cross and the
resurrection, the true and false meaning of so-called "aggiornamento"
is discovered. An easy accommodation that could lead to the secularization of
the Church is to be excluded. Also excluded is an immobile closing in upon
itself of the community of the faithful. Affirmed instead is a missionary
openness for the integral salvation of the world. Through this all truly human
values not only are accepted but energetically defended the dignity of the human
person, fundamental human rights, peace, freedom from oppression' poverty and
injustice. But integral salvation is obtained only it these human realities are
purified and further elevated through grace and familiarity with God, through
Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit.

4. Inculturation

From this perspective we also find the theological principle for the problem
of inculturation. Because the Church is communion, which joins diversity and
unity in being present throughout the world, it takes from every culture all
that it encounters of positive value. Yet inculturation is different from a
simple external adaptation, because it means the intimate transformation of
authentic cultural values through their integration in Christianity in the
various human cultures.

The separation of Gospel and culture was defined by Paul VI as "the
drama of our age, as it was for other ages. It is therefore necessary to make
every effort towards a generous evangelization of culture, more precisely of
cultures. They must be regenerated through the encounter with the good news. But
this encounter will not be brought about if the good news is not proclaimed (EN
20)."

5. Dialogue with non-Christian religious and non-believers

The Second Vatican Council affirmed that the Catholic Church refuses nothing
of what is true and holy in non-Christian religions. Indeed, it exhorted
Catholics to recognize, preserve and promote a l good spiritual and moral—as
well as socio-cultural—values that they find in their midst all of this with
prudence and charity, through dialogue and collaboration with the faithful of
other religions, giving testimony to the Christian faith and life (NAE 2) The
Council also affirmed that God does not deny the possibility of salvation to
anyone of good will (LG 16).

The concrete possibilities of dialogue in the various regions depend on many
concrete circumstances. All of this is also true for dialogue with
non-believers. Dialogue must not be opposed to mission. Authentic dialogue tends
to bring the human person to open up and communicate his inferiority to the one
with whom he is speaking. Moreover, all Christians have received from Christ the
mission to make all people disciples of Christ (MT 28:18). In this sense God can
use the dialogue between Christians and non-Christians and between Christians
and non-believers as a pathway for communicating the fullness of grace.

6. Preferential option for the poor and human promotion

Following the Second Vatican Council the Church became more aware of her
mission in the service of the poor, the oppressed and the outcast. In this
preferential option, which must not be understood as exclusive, the true spirit
of the Gospel shines forth. Jesus Christ declared the poor blessed (MT 5:3; Lk
6:20) and he himself wished to be poor for us (2 Cor 8:9).

Besides material poverty there is a lack of liberty and of spiritual forms of
poverty, and it is particularly grave when religious liberty is suppressed by
force.

The Church must prophetically denounce every form of poverty and oppression,
and everywhere defend and promote the fundamental and inalienable rights of the
human person. This is above all the case where it is a question of defending
human life from the time of its very beginning, of protecting it from aggressors
in every circumstance and of effectively promoting it in every respect.

The Synod expresses its communion with those brothers and sisters who suffer
persecution because of their faith and who suffer for the promotion of justice,
the Synod lifts up prayers to God for them.

The salvific mission of the Church in relation to the world must be
understood as an integral whole. Though it is spiritual, the mission of the
Church involves human promotion even in its temporal aspects. For this reason
the mission of the Church cannot be reduced to a monism, no matter how the
latter is understood. In this mission there is certainly a clear distinction—but
not a separation—between the natural and the supernatural aspects. This
duality is not a dualism. It is thus necessary to put aside the false and
useless oppositions between, for example, the Church's spiritual mission and
"diaconia" for the world.

7. Suggestions

Since the world is in continual evolution, it is necessary to analyze
continually the signs of the times, in order that the Gospel proclamation might
be more clearly heard and that the activity of the Church for the salvation of
the world might become more intense and efficacious. In this context we ought
once again to consider what is, and how to put into practice:

a) the theology of the cross and the paschal mystery in the preaching, the
sacraments and life of the Church of our day

b) the theory and practice of inculturation, as well as the dialogue with
non-Christian religions and with non-believers;

c) the social doctrine of the Church as it relates to human promotion in ever
new situations.

At the conclusion of this gathering the Synod, from the depths of our hearts,
gives thanks to God the Father, through his Son, in the Holy Spirit for the
greatest grace of this century, that is, the Second Vatican Council. It likewise
gives thanks to God for the spiritual experience of this twentieth anniversary
celebration, which has filled our hearts with joy and hope, even in the midst of
the problems and sufferings of our day. As with the Apostles in the Cenacle with
Mary the Holy Spirit has suggested to us what he wishes to say to the church in
her journey towards the third millennium.

We bishops, all of us, together with Peter and under his guidance, have
strived to comprehend more deeply the Second Vatican Council and to implement it
correctly in the Church That has been our objective during this Synod. We have
celebrated and verified the Council, and we commit ourselves to its promotion.
The message of the Second Vatican Council has already been welcomed with great
accord by the whole Church, and it remains the "Magna Charta" for the
future.

Finally, may there come in our day that "new Pentecost" of which
Pope John XXIII had already spoken and which we, with all of the faithful, await
from the Holy Spirit. May the Spirit, through the intercession of Mary, Mother
of the Church, ensure that, in these last days of our century, The Church in the
Word of God might celebrate the mysteries of Christ for the salvation of the
world."